EconoSim

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  EconoSim web interface

Inspiration

As someone who enjoys learning how systems work, I have always found economics fascinating but also confusing. Terms like inflation, GDP and government debt get thrown around all the time, but it’s hard to really see how they interact. I built EconoSim to change that, a way to visually and interactively explore how the economy reacts to changes in key factors.

What it does

EconoSim is a simple, interactive economic simulator. You can adjust variables like inflation rate, unemployment, business investment and government spending using sliders. Then, hit “Simulate Economy” and watch how those decisions affect GDP and inflation over time, visualized in real-time with a responsive chart. It’s a tool for curious minds, whether you're a student, a teacher, or someone who just wants to better understand the economy.

How I built it

I built the simulator entirely with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and used Chart.js for graphing the economic trends.

The simulation logic is simplified, but based on real-world relationships between economic variables, designed to be both educational and fun.

Challenges I ran into

One of the toughest parts was getting the graphs to dynamically update each time the simulation was run. I also spent a lot of time fine-tuning the balance between realism and simplicity. I didn’t want to overwhelm users with too many variables or complex math. Making the UI responsive for different screen sizes was another small but important challenge.

Accomplishments I'm proud of

• Building a functional economic simulator from scratch in just a short time
• Creating a visually clean and interactive experience that makes economics feel accessible
• Learning new tools like Chart.js and improving my frontend design skills along the way

What I learned

I learned how important user experience is when you're trying to teach or explain something. Even if the logic is solid, people won’t engage unless it’s intuitive and visually clear. I also got better at debugging JavaScript, handling dynamic updates, and balancing complexity with usability.

What's next for EconoSim

There’s a lot I’d love to expand on:

• Add new variables like tax rates or interest rates
• Include real-world scenario presets (like "2008 Recession" or "Post-COVID Recovery")
• Build in tooltips or guides to help beginners understand what each factor means
• Make it fully mobile-optimized for learning on the go

Built With

• chart.js
• css
• github
• html
• javascript